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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29667015">Bringing a Sword to a Gunfight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlothia/pseuds/Arlothia'>Arlothia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FebuWhump 2021 [23]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rurouni Kenshin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>....so far...., Angst, Blood, Febuwhump, Gen, Help walking, Hiding, Hurt/Comfort, Limping, Pain, Running, Stumble, Support, Whump, at sword point, because that's all I've seen, collapse, concerned friend, fight, gunpoint, h/c, movie verse, out beautiful german shepherd taking care of the puppy!!!, shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 13:40:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>928</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29667015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlothia/pseuds/Arlothia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenshin easily takes care of one gunman, but the one on the roof takes him by surprise...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FebuWhump 2021 [23]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139549</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bringing a Sword to a Gunfight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>FebuWhump Day 23: Alt. 9 - Gunpoint<br/>I just want some good whump interaction between Kenshin and Saito, alright? :P</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The gunman had made two mistakes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Firstly, he was standing much too close, the barrel of his rifle within reach of his target.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And secondly? He had drawn his gun on Himura Kenshin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The swordsman quickly dodged to the right, the bullet shooting harmlessly into the wall behind him, though the sound of the blast rang in Kenshin’s ears, leaving them ringing. With his left hand, Kenshin grabbed the gun and swung the sword in his right hand up, splitting the forestock and barrel cleanly in half. With the short stick of wood and metal in his hand, he rapped it against the head of the gunman, dropping him to the dusty ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>BANG!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A force ripped through Kenshin’s right shoulder, slamming into him from behind and knocking him off his feet. His arm went numb and his sword slipped from his limp fingers. There was another shot, the bullet hitting him in his right calf, but still he moved by instinct, painfully getting to his feet and racing to the closest source of cover. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenshin dropped to the ground behind a wooden wall, hand grasping his shoulder and breaths coming quick and shaky. He brought his hand in front of his face and saw that it was covered in blood. The bullet had gone through him, then. But the same couldn’t be said for the one in his leg. He could feel the hard lump of metal embedded in his flesh. It was hard to put any weight on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He peeked his head around the corner to see where the shot had come from. But just as he did, a third shot rang out and the wood right beside his head blew apart. He ducked back, awkwardly crawling further behind the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shot had come from the roof. Kenshin let his head drop back to rest against the wall. There was no way out of this courtyard that didn’t leave him exposed to the sniper. He was pinned. Normally, he would have trusted in his speed to get him clear, but with the state his leg was in…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A new barrage of shots rang out and Kenshin ducked his head, waiting to feel the impact of bullets riddle his body. But nothing came. In fact, it wasn’t just the gunshots he heard, but a struggle as well, and then the all-too familiar sound of a body hitting the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenshin heard footsteps coming towards him and he braced himself, rising on one foot and leaning heavily on the wall. He could still fight without his sword. He could still fight while wounded. He’d done both before and he was still alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He saw the moonlit shadow on the ground just beyond the wall. Closer...closer…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenshin lunged at the figure the moment he caught sight of the barest shred of the man’s clothes. His greatest strength now was the element of surprise, and it worked. His attacker cried out in shock, losing his balance and flinging his arms out to catch himself. The man’s back collided with a support beam, stopping his backwards progression, but Kenshin wasn’t so lucky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a skillful twist of his body, the man was able to fling the injured swordsman off of him and Kenshin went tumbling to the ground, rolling until he crashed into the wall of the courtyard. He scrambled to his feet, the wood behind his back giving him support, but when he looked up there was the point of a sword aimed directly at his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Himura!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait… He knew that voice. And he knew that sword. That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>sword. And beyond the blade, past the hilt, was the small pinprick of light from a cigarette held between the teeth of Saito Hajime.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The world slowed around Kenshin, his once hypervigilant senses returning to a more normal state. He took several deep breaths, his body sagging. The adrenaline left his body as quickly as it had flooded it for the fight. His leg started to give out underneath him, but Saito was beside him in a second, quickly helping to support him by bracing him under his arm. His right arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenshin bit off a cry of pain but couldn’t help it as his body crumbled further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What a mess you’ve gotten yourself into, Himura,” Saito murmured, deftly slipping Kenshin’s sword back into the sheath at the young man’s waist and moving to his left side, slipping his uninjured arm around his shoulders and urging him to walk. He tried, but the result was an unwieldy limp that almost brought Saito crashing down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steady now, Himura,” Saito said, readjusting his grip on Kenshin to take on more of his weight. “More of their men will arrive soon and I don’t want to be here when they do. Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenshin nodded silently, reserving his energy for the trip back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They made for a strange sight, the two of them slowly stumbling out of the courtyard and through the deserted streets of the city. A former Shinsengumi wearing the uniform of a Meiji police officer and the legendary Hitokiri Battousai who no longer killed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they were no longer the people they were in the past, enemies fighting on opposite sides of ideology. At present, the only ideology that mattered was working together to free this city from the clutches of the murderous gang that had overrun it’s peaceful inhabitants. And to do that, they needed to find a place to lay low while they waited for reinforcements to arrive and for Kenshin’s wounds to heal. </span>
</p>
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